KINGSTON — Advancing age, health scares and looming redistricting convinced Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, to throw in the towel after 20 years in the House of Representatives.

“Now is the right time for me to move on,” Hinchey, 73, told dozens of staffers and supporters Thursday at the Old Senate House. “It’s been the greatest privilege of my life.”

Hinchey has undergone two rounds of colon cancer surgery since July. He maintained Thursday that he’s cancer-free and feeling much better, but said the experience “put everything in perspective” for him.

He used to relish late nights pouring over arcane policy and executing backroom deals. Now he wants more time for his friends, his family, and most of all, himself.

“I am very much at peace with my decision and excited and ready for this next chapter in my life,” Hinchey said, noting that he considered stepping down at the end of the past couple of terms.

And with New York going from 29 to 27 congressional districts in the next election cycle, Hinchey was going to get lots of new constituents even if he stayed on.

He hopes the 22nd Congressional District maintains its current geography – stretching from Poughkeepsie to Ithaca – but is resigned to its likely balkanization.

Hinchey reminisced about his achievements in Washington and Albany, where he spent 18 years as a Assemblyman.

Environmental issues have been Hinchey’s landmark, stretching from General Electric’s forced cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson River in the 1970s to opposition to hydraulic fracturing. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Hinchey also brought home the bacon for everything from the Interstate 86 upgrade to the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Hinchey stuck around for an hour after his speech, answering questions, exchanging hugs and savoring the spotlight.

“It was a wild ride,” Hinchey said. “But it’s time for someone else to fight those battles.”